Rev. Danny Fisher

Over at the New York Times, there’s a good article about our friends and past interviewees Robert Chodo Campbell and Koshin Paley Ellison of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care’s Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program.  The article is ostensibly about Buddhist contributions to professional chaplaincy, but it has more to say about the field generally.  Here’s a snippet:

As Congress debates extensive changes to many facets of the health care system, it has pretty much ignored the institution of hospital chaplains. And yet, some hospitals are finding that chaplains of all faiths are playing an increasingly vital role, one made all the more important as workloads increase and budgets constrict.

The chaplains’ job has traditionally been to provide spiritual care. But the job description has blurred as the role of chaplains has expanded. These days, they join medical rounds and discuss crucial end-of-life issues with patients and families.

“They are a critical part of the team,” said Dr. Wayne Ury, an attending physician in the department of pain medicine and palliative care at Beth Israel. “They help the doctors and nurses see issues that we may not have been aware of, or minimized, or turned a blind eye to, or just been too rushed to hear.”

Wendy Cadge, a sociologist at Brandeis University who is writing a book about hospital chaplaincy called “Paging God,” said data on the value of chaplains was slim.

“But people think chaplains are really helpful around end-of-life issues and increasingly complex ethical decisions,” she said, including organ donations, living wills and do-not-resuscitate orders.

“Chaplains do a lot to help reduce anxieties,” she added. “One study says patients and families who see a chaplain are more satisfied with their care.”

Nationally, the demand for chaplaincy services from hospitals and other providers is growing substantially, according to the Association of Professional Chaplains.

“Administrators, doctors and nurses are seeing the value that chaplains bring to the table,” said the Rev. Sue Wintz, president of the association, whose membership has more than doubled, to 3,259, over the last 20 years.

Hospitals generally pay for chaplain services themselves, since taxpayer money cannot be used for religious activities, and insurance companies do not reimburse for them. But the costs are tiny in an overall hospital budget.

At Beth Israel, the hospital pays for a director of the pastoral care department, who is Catholic, and a full-time rabbi, and it shares costs with the Archdiocese of New York for two Catholic priests. [Chodo and Koshin], who are not part of the department, are financed through a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation, a private philanthropic group rooted in Jewish tradition.

The hospital is also training 21 chaplain interns, 14 of whom, like Ms. Reigeluth, are practicing Buddhists; they are not paid.

While the priests tend primarily to Catholic patients and the rabbi to Jewish patients, hospital officials say the Buddhists and trainees care for patients of all faiths — and those with no religious affiliation. (Some patients decline such services.)

Read the rest here.